The Night of Favorites and Farewells (Retro Cartoons)
The Night of Favorites and Farewells was a one-time special that aired on Retro Cartoons on September 18, 2015. This special took a look back at the 17-year history of Retro Cartoons and some of their biggest hits. This was Retro Cartoons's last nationally broadcast schedule, as the network officially closed down after the program The Powerpuff Girls ended to make way for Cartoon Antenna. Schedule and format The night began with the announcer, Terry Ward (who had become the "voice" of Retro Cartoons for the majority of its history, and would not continue as announcer for Cartoon Antenna, introducing the viewers to the night's schedule, and began with the episode of Yogi Bear. The schedule of the night was: * 4:00pm Eastern/3:00pm Central - Yogi Bear * 5:00pm Eastern/4:00pm Central - The Perils of Penelope Pitstop '' * 6:00pm Eastern/5:00pm Central - ''Cattanooga Cats '' * 7:00pm Eastern/6:00pm Central - ''Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? '' * 9:00pm Eastern/8:00pm Central - ''Tom & Jerry ''(2 hours) * 10:00pm Eastern/9:00pm Central - ''Top Cat '' * 11:00pm Eastern/10:00pm Central - ''The Powerpuff Girls '' Before each show, there was an introduction to the show, followed by the ''Night logo displayed with the year the show premiered on the bottom. During commercial breaks and after shows during the credits, flashbacks would air that would feature cartoon characters and other memorable stars on Retro Cartoons, usually from stock footage or from commercials and image campaigns the network had. The names and the year when they became big on the network would also appear. Commercials also included promo spots for each series' TV-on-DVD box sets as well as promo spots given to cable networks broadcasting the shows above in off-network syndication. Final moments After the last act of the first episode for The Powerpuff Girls concluded, including a short-commercial break, a final 60-second clip montage aired featuring many of the network's previous stars, ending with this statement: "For 17 years, you brought us into your homes. We made you smile and laugh and tugged at your heart. And now, we say goodbye. From all of us at Retro Cartoons, thank you." The final image on Retro Cartoons was of their mascot Top Cat, taking his hat off and bowing while the words "thank you" are on the screen, thanking the audience for watching the network for the last 17 years. As the image faded out, Retro Cartoons left the airwaves. The clip montage officially ended the network, as the studio credits for The Powerpuff Girls were shown afterwards instead of Retro Cartoon's standard credits scheme, which had been used on the other episodes that aired during the night. Themes and marketing Retro Cartoons had limited marketing for this one last program on their network. Commercials mainly aired on the network itself. Major themes for this program included "Faces you'll always remember.", "Names you'll never forget.", "The faces that touched our hearts", "Retro Cartoons says goodbye", "A network that defined classic cartoons says goodbye." and "Join us one last time". The music playing in all the flashbacks and other promos for this event was "Crawl" by Thisway. Viewer reaction and ratings Over the next few days, there were many discussions about the night on Cartoon Antenna's forums, most of which expressed sadness, with many recalling memories of watching Retro Cartoons. However, the special was a disappointment in ratings; Retro Cartoons that night scored a 1.1 household rating and just a share of just 3.Category:Specials Category:NicThic Wiki